Sharpstown area? Job Market in Houston? (Stafford, Katy: low income, apartment complexes, income)

[BigNick73]

Some background info first. I'm from Jackson, MS and I'm 27, never been to Houston, and have no real job prospects there, thinking of just packing my stuff and leaving. I finished my undergrad in business admin a year ago and have had no luck finding work here. One of my brother's friends moved to Houston about a year ago so when my brother graduated this summer he just packed up and left and now I'm considering doing the same since they both found work really quick.

They both have apartments around the 59 and sam houston tollway intersection on Forum West they are way cheap compared to here and was wanting some outside opinions on the area, or maybe better locations on the $400 a month range. They say it a bit shady but feel safe there and claim its way safer than Jackson, but it's not hard look/feel/be safer than a lot of Jackson.


Hows the job market there? How hard would it be to find anything in the $15-$20 a hour range in IT or otherwise.

[teacher5]

Hey! I am also from Jackon, MS. I have been trying to relocate to Houston for the past five years. I have a degree in accounting and have not been able to find a suitable job in Jackson. I've applied to over 200 jobs in Houston and have gotten five call backs and went on two interviews. I was just in Houston last Thursday interviewing for a job that pays $13.00 an hour, its lower than I would like but I just want to get my foot in the door somewhere in Houston.

[BigNick73]

Well glad to know its not just me that can't find work here, was getting a bit depressed over it. I could live on $13 a hour pretty easily myself at the moment, but five call backs when you live so far away sounds pretty promising to me, bet it'd be more if you were already living there.

[teacher5]

When I first started applying, I used my MS address on my resume and didn't get any call backs. Then I started using family members addresses who lived in Houston with my MS cell phone number and I started getting call backs. Houston is big and there is alot of competition out there, but I'm going to keep on sending out resumes. I would like to relocate to the Sugarland or Katy area. I have family in both. I don't know much about Sharpstown though.

[dv1033]

Originally Posted by BigNick73

Some background info first. I'm from Jackson, MS and I'm 27, never been to Houston, and have no real job prospects there, thinking of just packing my stuff and leaving. I finished my undergrad in business admin a year ago and have had no luck finding work here. One of my brother's friends moved to Houston about a year ago so when my brother graduated this summer he just packed up and left and now I'm considering doing the same since they both found work really quick.

They both have apartments around the 59 and sam houston tollway intersection on Forum West they are way cheap compared to here and was wanting some outside opinions on the area, or maybe better locations on the $400 a month range. They say it a bit shady but feel safe there and claim its way safer than Jackson, but it's not hard look/feel/be safer than a lot of Jackson.


Hows the job market there? How hard would it be to find anything in the $15-$20 a hour range in IT or otherwise.

I actually live in that area (59 and BW8) and it is not the best area. It's basically a low income area. However, Westchase is by that area and has many IT related companies. I would look for an apartment along Westheimer in the Westchase area, which is going to be on Westheimer between Dairy Ashford and Gessner.

[BigNick73]

Cool I just realized there are people that hunt apartments for people there, gonna try that route and see.

From what I've gathered people there freakout about sharpstown, but it would be considered one of the decent areas in Jackson and where I was living the past three years is actually much worse.

[Wysiwyg]

i'm not sure if 59 and 8 is part of the sharpstown area. i dont think so

[tstone]

59/8 is Stafford I think. Low income is more northeast around 59/Bissonnet. That's a pretty rough area.

As far as $400/mo range for apartments... not gonna happen. Maybe roommates could get into an $800/mo 2 bedroom, but the clientele in something like that may be a little iffy in town. Maybe not.

[Texas Mack]

Originally Posted by teacher5

When I first started applying, I used my MS address on my resume and didn't get any call backs. Then I started using family members addresses who lived in Houston with my MS cell phone number and I started getting call backs. Houston is big and there is alot of competition out there, but I'm going to keep on sending out resumes. I would like to relocate to the Sugarland or Katy area. I have family in both. I don't know much about Sharpstown though.

I'm glad you picked up on this. Unless we're talking about professional jobs and management positions that pay higher salaries or specializations that are somewhat rare across the board, you're less likely to get call backs when you don't live in the same area in which the position is being advertised. Why? Because most employers looking for those types of positions can probably find enough candidates locally and not have to worry about making long distance calls or whether the out-of-town candidate can even make it into town for the interview.

[Texas Mack]

Originally Posted by tstone

59/8 is Stafford I think. Low income is more northeast around 59/Bissonnet. That's a pretty rough area.

As far as $400/mo range for apartments... not gonna happen. Maybe roommates could get into an $800/mo 2 bedroom, but the clientele in something like that may be a little iffy in town. Maybe not.

Agreed.

Typically, a one-bedroom in the suburbs that's decent will probably command no less than $550 - $600 / mo. Anything in the city proper that's decent--decent, mind you--is going to go for at least $700 - $750 a month.

Relatively speaking, Houston doesn't have much in the way of public housing projects (that is, compared to cities like Atlanta or Baltimore, for example), but there is a significant number of "low-income" apartment complexes. Many of these were built in the 60s and 70s and are in former "boomtown" suburbs and/or communities such as Greenspoint, Fondren SW and Sharpstown. An area now unaffectionately known as the "Gulfton Ghetto" was once a supposedly yuppified area in the early to mid-70s because of its proximity to the Uptown (Galleria) area.

Anyway, there are still a good number of options in the Westchase / West Belt area to consider but, frankly, Sharpstown isn't a good area for apartment living. I wouldn't recommend.